Free Republic

World reserve status allows for amazing latitude in terms of monetary policy. The Federal Reserve understands that there is constant demand for dollars overseas as a means to more easily import and export goods. The dollar’s petro-status also makes it essential for trading oil globally. This means that the central bank of the US has been able to create fiat currency from thin air to a far higher degree than any other central bank on the planet while avoiding the immediate effects of hyperinflation. Much of that cash as well as dollar denominated debt (physical and digital) ends up in...

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said on Tuesday that representatives from the two main Palestinian factions, the terrorist organization Hamas and Fatah, made progress at recent “unity talks” held in Beijing. Lin said Hamas and Fatah sent representatives to Beijing at China’s invitation for “in-depth and candid dialogue on promoting Palestinian reconciliation.” “The two sides fully expressed their political will of realizing reconciliation through dialogue and consultation, had discussions on many specific issues, and made encouraging progress,” he said. No announcements have been made and the talks were held without much fanfare. Lin did not indicate exactly when this...

Representative Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that Democrats had to win the election because former President Donald Trump was “predicting a bloodbath.” Saturday, at a rally in Dayton, OH, Trump said, “If you’re listening, President Xi — and you and I are friends — but he understands the way I deal. Those big monster car manufacturing plants that you’re building in Mexico right now, and you think you’re going to get that, you’re going to not hire Americans, and you’re going to sell the cars as now we’re going to put a 100% tariff...

A San Gabriel Valley woman pleaded guilty to defrauding over $150 million from the U.S. Postal Service. Lijuan “Angela” Chen, 51, of Walnut, carried out the scheme by using counterfeit postage to ship tens of millions of packages, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. From November 2019 to May 2023, Chen and her accomplice, Chuanhua “Hugh” Hu, 51, owned and operated a package shipping business in the City of Industry.

Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL) said he was “shocked” at how highly classified the documents that President Joe Biden was keeping at his Delaware home were, arguing that they were “eyes only” for the president and vice president. While appearing on Fox News’s Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo, Waltz addressed the classified documents Biden had at his home, with the representative pushing back against claims that the information contained in these documents was from the Cold War era. He contended that instead, the documents’ information was both “recent” and “relevant” and that the documents had many code words that even...

China is waiting for the Russian Federation to collapse so it can seize a slice of land taken from it by Russia 200 years ago, it has been claimed.Beijing has been a crucial supporter of Vladimir Putin since he invaded Ukraine and was essentially cut off from the Western world due to sanctions.But Canadian journalist and author Diane Francis believes that China is also preparing to take back a slice of land in the far east of Russia.Speaking to Times Radio, she explained how the war in Ukraine may have just Beijing-Moscow relations.She said: "China was put in a terrible...

When Admiral Michael Gilday, chief of U.S. naval operations, gave an interview in 2022, he made a point of saying he believed China could invade Taiwan in 2022 or 2023. As of the last week of April 2024, China has not invaded Taiwan. Does this mean that Taiwan and the international community can breathe a collective sigh of relief? Maybe. A compelling case can be made that if China does intend to take Taiwan, then the period between now and January 2025 is as favorable a time as it is likely to have over the near term.There is an array...

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US has seen evidence of Chinese attempts to “influence and arguably interfere” with the upcoming US elections, despite an earlier commitment from leader Xi Jinping not to do so. Blinken made the comments to CNN’s Kylie Atwood in an interview Friday at the close of a three-day to trip to China, where the top American diplomat spent hours meeting with top Chinese officials including Xi, as the two countries navigated a raft of contentious issues from US tech controls to Beijing’s support for Moscow. Blinken said he repeated a message President Joe...

Hamas saying it received Israel's reply to its proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza... A bank in Philadelphia has failed... At least 70 dead in flooding in Kenya... Widespread air raid alerts across Ukraine...Intelligence sources speak of large scale Russian missile attacks in Central and Western Ukraine... Tornadoes impacting the Omaha area this afternoon and evening... An attack on a merchant vessel off the coast of Yemen...Two of the missiles causing damage... The Western Canadian province of British Columbia recriminalizing drug use in public areas... The Russian military in Syria saying that aerospace forces attacked two jihadist bases... A Romanian...

Washington -- Ex-Japanese prime minister Taro Aso has met former president Donald Trump and both the leaders discussed the enduring importance of the US-Japan alliance to their physical and economic security in the strategic Indo-Pacific region. Aso, vice president of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, met Trump on Tuesday at the Trump Tower in Manhattan. Both the leaders discussed the enduring importance of the US-Japan alliance to both countries’ physical and economic security and stability in the Indo-Pacific, according to a statement issued by the Trump Campaign on the meeting with the 83-year-old visiting Japanese leader. “They also discussed challenges...

Lieutenant General Hisao Tani was shot on this date in 1947 for his part in the Rape of Nanking. Tani commanded a division that took part in the conquest and occupation of that Chinese city in 1937, and it was outside its gates — following a Chinese war crimes trial — that he took his leave of this world.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has announced that the main event in the relationship between Russia and China in 2024 will be Russian President Vladimir Putin’s state visit to China. The announcement came at a meeting of the Council of Heads of Subjects of the Russian Federation under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Lavrov emphasised that the visit coincides with the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries, as reported on the ministry’s official website, TV BRICS reported. “The main event of bilateral relations this year will be the state visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to the...

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson is being mocked for suggesting the far side of the moon is always “dark” and can’t explain why China is interested in exploring that part of the moon. “What do you think the Chinese are trying to get at, at the back side of the moon?” Rep. David Trone (D-MD) asked Nelson at a congressional hearing last week. “They are going to have a lander on the far side of the moon, which is the side which is always in dark. Uh, we’re not planning to go there,” he said.

Guy who think asteroid craters were caused by angels who operate to this day out of a pyramid in Khazakstan as part of a global, centuries long plot masterminded by the “deceivers” at NASA.

WASHINGTON—The classified documents that investigators say were leaked by a junior member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard indicate the extent to which U.S. spy agencies rely on clandestinely intercepted communications to keep tabs on their adversaries and allies alike. In vivid examples, the documents track foreign governments’ military movements, diplomatic efforts and clandestine weapons sales, as well as debates in friendly capitals and more. The powerful eavesdropping program that enables some of that intelligence gathering is due to lapse at the end of the year. To persuade Congress to renew the program, Biden administration officials had been debating whether...

Massachusetts AIr National Guardsman Jack Teixeira, accused of classified document leak. CREDIT: Simon Ateba, TwitterThe big story Thursday was the arrest of 21-year-old Jack Teixeira, a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard who allegedly leaked more than 100 pages of classified documents that exposed extremely sensitive information from the Pentagon regarding Ukraine, Russia, China, Israel, and documents produced by the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency.That story changed markedly through the day, though, and the sparse information we have about Teixeira raised major questions about how he could have possibly had access to such a wide-ranging tranche...

Dairy cows cannot be moved between states without testing for the highly pathogenic avian influenza, U.S. officials announced on April 24. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued a federal order that says “prior to interstate movement, dairy cattle are required to receive a negative test for Influenza A virus.” A strain of the highly pathogenic avian influenza A, H5N1, has been spreading across the country since first being detected in cows in March. The influenza is commonly known as the bird flu. At this point, no beef cattle are known to have been infected with the virus. The order,...

Chinese electric auto-giant BYD has released a bold supercar concept through its premium Fang Cheng Bao brand. The Super 9 rocks no roof, the barest hint of windscreen, and lascivious scissor doors – and it's apparently headed for production. BYD is the world’s largest EV producer. It produced 20% of the 10 million EVs sold globally last year, from Tesla (13%), Volkswagen (9%) and General Motors (6%) – those are all very rough figures for simplification purposes. For stats – go here. It is also the dominant brand in the world’s largest and fastest growing automotive market, at a time...

Ahead of a planned trip to China this week, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is reported to have alleged that Beijing is still committing genocide against Uyghur Muslim minorities. The comments in the State Department’s annual report on human rights around the world echoed language in previous years concerning China’s treatment of Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in the western province of Xinjiang.

Not trying to sell anything to anyone, I am looking for anyone who has this radio and what their thoughts are. From all the articles and videos, I've seen, it's a Baofeng UV-5R modernized to 2024, which is easily hackable to expand the frequencies you can listen to. There is a ton of free public domain firmware available for download. I have one coming for $30 and I'm looking forward to finding out what this device is capable of, it seems like a cheap way to expand my knowledge and to throw into my emergency communications kit.